Patriarch Athenagoras, published after their meeting of 6 January 1964).
Our meeting, another encounter of the Bishops of the Churches of Rome and
Constantinople founded respectively by the two Brothers the Apostles Peter
and Andrew, is a source of profound spiritual joy for us. It presents a
providential occasion to reflect on the depth and the authenticity of our
existing bonds, themselves the fruit of a grace-filled journey on which the
Lord has guided us since that blessed day of fifty years ago.
 2. Our fraternal encounter today is a new and necessary step on the
journey towards the unity to which only the Holy Spirit can lead us, that
of communion in legitimate diversity. We call to mind with profound
gratitude the steps that the Lord has already enabled us to undertake. The
embrace exchanged between Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras here in
Jerusalem, after many centuries of silence, paved the way for a momentous
gesture, the removal from the memory and from the midst of the Church of
the acts of mutual excommunication in 1054. This was followed by an
exchange of visits between the respective Sees of Rome and Constantinople,
by regular correspondence and, later, by the decision announced by Pope
John Paul II and Patriarch Dimitrios, of blessed memory both, to initiate a
theological dialogue of truth between Catholics and Orthodox. Over these
years, God, the source of all peace and love, has taught us to regard one
another as members of the same Christian family, under one Lord and
Saviour, Jesus Christ, and to love one another, so that we may confess our
faith in the same Gospel of Christ, as received by the Apostles and
expressed and transmitted to us by the Ecumenical Councils and the Church
Fathers. While fully aware of not having reached the goal of full
communion, today we confirm our commitment to continue walking together
towards the unity for which Christ our Lord prayed to the Father so 'that
all may be one'.
 3. Well aware that unity is manifested in love of God and love of
neighbour, we look forward in eager anticipation to the day in which we
will finally partake together in the Eucharistic banquet. As Christians, we
are called to prepare to receive this gift of Eucharistic communion,
according to the teaching of Saint Irenaeus of Lyon, through the confession
of the one faith, persevering prayer, inner conversion, renewal of life and
fraternal dialogue. By achieving this hoped for goal, we will manifest to
the world the love of God by which we are recognized as true disciples of
Jesus Christ.
 4. To this end, the theological dialogue undertaken by the Joint
International Commission offers a fundamental contribution to the search
for full communion among Catholics and Orthodox. Throughout the subsequent
times of Popes John Paul II and Benedict the XVI, and Patriarch Dimitrios,
the progress of our theological encounters has been substantial. Today we
express heartfelt appreciation for the achievements to date, as well as for
the current endeavours. This is no mere theoretical exercise, but an
exercise in truth and love that demands an ever deeper knowledge of each
other's traditions in order to understand them and to learn from them. Thus
we affirm once again that the theological dialogue does not seek a
theological lowest common denominator on which to reach a compromise, but
is rather about deepening one's grasp of the whole truth that Christ has
given to his Church, a truth that we never cease to understand better as we
follow the Holy Spirit's promptings. Hence, we affirm together that our
faithfulness to the Lord demands fraternal encounter and true dialogue.
Such a common pursuit does not lead us away from the truth; rather, through
an exchange of gifts, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, it will lead
us into all truth.
 5. Yet even as we make this journey towards full communion we already have
the duty to offer common witness to the love of God for all people by
working together in the service of humanity, especially in defending the
dignity of the human person at every stage of life and the sanctity of
family based on marriage, in promoting peace and the common good, and in
responding to the suffering that continues to afflict our world. We
acknowledge that hunger, poverty, illiteracy, the inequitable distribution
of resources must constantly be addressed. It is our duty to seek to build
together a just and humane society in which no-one feels excluded or
marginalised.
 6. It is our profound conviction that the future of the human family
depends also on how we safeguard - both prudently and compassionately, with
justice and fairness - the gift of creation that our Creator has entrusted
to us. Therefore, we acknowledge in repentance the wrongful mistreatment of
our planet, which is tantamount to sin before the eyes of God. We reaffirm
our responsibility and obligation to foster a sense of humility and
moderation so that all may feel the need to respect creation and to
safeguard it with care. Together, we pledge our commitment to raising
awareness about the stewardship of creation; we appeal to all people of
goodwill to consider ways of living less wastefully and more frugally,
manifesting less greed and more generosity for the protection of God's
world and the benefit of His people.
 7. There is likewise an urgent need for effective and committed
cooperation of Christians in order to safeguard everywhere the right to
express publicly one's faith and to be treated fairly when promoting that
which Christianity continues to offer to contemporary society and culture.
In this regard, we invite all Christians to promote an authentic dialogue
with Judaism, Islam and other religious traditions. Indifference and mutual
ignorance can only lead to mistrust and unfortunately even conflict.
 8. From this holy city of Jerusalem, we express our shared profound
concern for the situation of Christians in the Middle East and for their
right to remain full citizens of their homelands. In trust we turn to the
almighty and merciful God in a prayer for peace in the Holy Land and in the
Middle East in general. We especially pray for the Churches in Egypt,
Syria, and Iraq, which have suffered most grievously due to recent events.
We encourage all parties regardless of their religious convictions to
continue to work for reconciliation and for the just recognition of
peoples' rights. We are persuaded that it is not arms, but dialogue, pardon
and reconciliation that are the only possible means to achieve peace.
 9. In an historical context marked by violence, indifference and egoism,
many men and women today feel that they have lost their bearings. It is
precisely through our common witness to the good news of the Gospel that we
may be able to help the people of our time to rediscover the way that leads
to truth, justice and peace. United in our intentions, and recalling the
example, fifty years ago here in Jerusalem, of Pope Paul VI and Patriarch
Athenagoras, we call upon all Christians, together with believers of every
religious tradition and all people of good will, to recognise the urgency
of the hour that compels us to seek the reconciliation and unity of the
human family, while fully respecting legitimate differences, for the good
of all humanity and of future generations.
 10. In undertaking this shared pilgrimage to the site where our one same
Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, buried and rose again, we humbly commend
to the intercession of the Most Holy and Ever Virgin Mary our future steps
on the path towards the fullness of unity, entrusting to God's infinite
love the entire human family.
 'May the Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The
Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!'".
 Jerusalem, 25 May 2014.

___________________________________________________________

 ECUMENICAL ENCOUNTER IN THE HOLY SEPULCHRE: LET US NOT DEPRIVE THE WORLD
OF THE PROCLAMATION OF THE RESURRECTION
 Vatican City, 26 May 2014 (VIS) - After signing the Joint Declaration, the
Holy Father and the Patriarch Bartholomew went to the Basilica of the Holy
Sepulchre to take part in an ecumenical celebration. The Pope entered the
Square by the Muristan arch, while the Patriarch entered by the gate of St.
Helena. The celebration continued with the participation of the Ordinaries
of the Holy Land, the Syrian archbishop, the Ethiopian archbishop, the
Anglican bishop, the Lutheran bishop, and others. It was also attended by
the general consuls of the five countries who guarantee the "Statu
quo" of the Basilica (France, Belgium, Spain, Italy and Greece), and
the other consuls of the "Corpus separatum" of Jerusalem
(Switzerland, the United States, Turkey, and the United Kingdom).
 The Holy Sepulchre is, according to tradition, the place where the burial,
crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ took place. After the
repression of the Jewish revolt in 135, Jerusalem underwent a radical
change: the Jews, Samaritans and Judeo-Christians were expelled and their
return was prohibited. Hadrian, with the intention of eliminating every
trace of the religion that had provoked two violent revolts, destroyed all
places of worship, and the Holy Sepulchre suffered the same fate: it was
razed to the ground, its cavities filled with earth, and a temple to the
goddess Venus-Ishtar was built over it. During the first ecumenical Council
of Nicaea, the bishop of Jerusalem, Macarius, invited the emperor
Constantine to restore to light the Holy Sepulchre, which, beneath the
rubble, was perfectly preserved. The Basilica of the Resurrection to be
built there at the behest of the Empress Helena, mother of Constantine, and
went on to have a tumultuous history throughout the centuries. The stone
that sealed the tomb was broken during the Persian invasion of 614 and it
went on to suffer further damages until the decision of the Crusaders in
1099 to enclose all the monuments to the death and Resurrection of Christ
in a single building, which remained almost unaltered until the end of the
nineteenth century. Further damages resulted from the earthquake in 1927
and the first Arab-Israel war in 1948.
 The Basilica continues to be regulated according to the "Statu
quo", and it is the property of three communities: the Latins
(represented by the Friars Minor), the Greek Orthodox and the Armenian
Orthodox; the Coptic Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox and the Ethiopian Orthodox
may officiate in the Basilica. At the entrance, in the atrium, there is the
Stone of the Anointing, which according to tradition indicates the place
where Jesus, deposed from the Cross, was anointed.
 Pope Francis and the Patriarch Bartholomew were received by the three
superiors of the communities of the "Statu Quo" (Greek Orthodox,
Franciscan and Armenian Apostolic). The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of
Jerusalem Theophilos III and the Custodian of Jerusalem, Fr. Pierbattista
Pizzaballa, O.F.M. Cap., and the Armenian Apostolic Patriarch, His
Beatitude Archbishop Nourhan Manougian, venerated the Stone of the
Anointing, followed by the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch.
 After the proclamation of the Gospel and the words of Patriarch
Bartholomew, the Holy Father gave an address in which he commented that the
Basilica, "which all Christians regard with the deepest
veneration", his pilgrimage in the company of my "beloved brother
in Christ, His Holiness Bartholomew, now reaches its culmination. We are
making this pilgrimage in the footsteps of our venerable predecessors, Pope
Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras, who, with courage and docility to the
Holy Spirit, made possible, fifty years ago, in this holy city of
Jerusalem, an historic meeting between the Bishop of Rome and the Patriarch
of Constantinople. I cordially greet all of you who are present. In a
special way I express my heartfelt gratitude to those who have made this
moment possible: His Beatitude Theophilos, who has welcomed us so
graciously, His Beatitude Nourhan Manougian and Father Pierbattista
Pizzaballa".

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